China flexes blockade capabilities near Taiwan on second day of military drills

China Conducts Extensive Military Drills Around Taiwan as Regional Tensions Rise

China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted a second day of large-scale military drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, executing live-fire exercises as part of an operation dubbed “Justice Mission 2025.” The maneuvers represent Beijing’s latest demonstration of its capability to counter any external military support for the self-ruled island that China claims as part of its sovereign territory.

The PLA’s Eastern Theater Command deployed destroyers, frigates, fighter jets, and bombers to waters north and south of Taiwan, testing its abilities in sea-air coordination and blockading tactics. Ground forces carried out long-range, live-fire drills north of the island, while simulated joint strikes with air, naval, and missile units took place to Taiwan’s south, achieving what command spokesperson Li Xi described as “desired effects.”

These military exercises have disrupted daily life in the region. Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration was notified about seven temporary “dangerous zones” established around the Taiwan Strait. The websites of Taiwan’s four international airports showed over 100 international and domestic flights faced schedule revisions, delays, or cancellations on Tuesday afternoon.

China’s official news agency, Xinhua, published a commentary late Monday emphasizing that the drills sent an unambiguous message: Beijing stands ready to prevent any attempt to separate Taiwan from China. The commentary warned that each escalation would be met with increasingly robust countermeasures, while criticizing Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for supposedly binding the island to a “catastrophic secessionist chariot” through arms purchases from the United States.

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te responded on Tuesday, stating that his government would act responsibly by neither escalating conflict nor provoking disputes. “China has recently escalated military pressure in a frequent manner, this is not conduct expected of a responsible major nation,” he wrote on social media.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry reported detecting 130 Chinese aircraft, including fighters and bombers, 14 military ships, and eight other official vessels around the island between early Monday and Tuesday morning. Ninety of these aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, while a Chinese military balloon was also spotted. The ministry noted that PLA long-range artillery units in Fujian, a southeastern Chinese province, fired live rounds toward target zones approximately 44 kilometers off Taiwan’s northern coast.

Defense Minister Wellington Koo condemned the actions as “highly provocative,” stating they undermined regional stability and posed security threats to passing ships, trade activities, and flight routes.

While Beijing routinely sends warplanes and naval vessels toward Taiwan, the scale of these exercises marks a significant escalation in cross-strait tensions. China has consistently vowed to seize the island, by force if necessary.

Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang described the drills as a “stern warning” to “Taiwan independence” separatist forces and external forces, without specifically naming any countries. He criticized President Lai’s administration for allegedly pandering to external powers and pursuing independence, calling this “the root cause of disrupting the status quo in the strait.”

The military exercises follow Beijing’s recent imposition of sanctions against 20 U.S. defense-related companies and 10 executives, in response to Washington’s announcement of arms sales to Taiwan valued at more than $10 billion. These sales still require approval from the U.S. Congress. Under U.S. law, Washington is obligated to assist Taipei with its defense capabilities, a commitment that has become increasingly contentious with China.

U.S. President Donald Trump downplayed concerns about the drills on Monday, noting that while he wasn’t informed of the exercise in advance, he wasn’t particularly worried. Trump highlighted his “great relationship” with Chinese President Xi Jinping and suggested he didn’t believe Xi intended to attack Taiwan.

The Taiwan issue has also heightened tensions between China and Japan after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested that Japan’s military could intervene if China takes action against Taiwan. This statement provoked strong criticism from Beijing, where historical animosity toward Japan remains significant, dating back to Japan’s brutal occupation of parts of China before World War II.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi sharply criticized both Japan and Taiwan’s “pro-independence forces,” saying: “Japan, which launched the war of aggression against China, not only fails to deeply reflect on the numerous crimes it committed, but its current leaders also openly challenge China’s territorial sovereignty.”

China and Taiwan have been governed separately since 1949, when the Communist Party took power in Beijing following a civil war, forcing defeated Nationalist forces to flee to Taiwan, which later evolved from martial law to multiparty democracy.

The military exercises have had immediate economic impacts. Chen Wen-chin, chairman of the Keelung District Fishermen’s Association in Taiwan, reported that the group began hourly radio broadcasts on Monday to inform fishers about exercise locations, urging them to avoid dangerous areas. “The Chinese military exercises have prevented fishermen from fishing, which is their livelihood,” Chen said. “The inability to fish has had a significant impact on them and caused economic losses.”